Former LucasArts wunderkind Tim Schafers latest is marred only in the sense that its not quite sure what kind of pad-pusher it wants to be. Part RTS, part open-world hack n slash opus, both sides vie for your attention as you headbang through the Secret Of Monkey Island scribes ode to the ludicrous album covers and lyrics of heavy metals yesteryear.
Despite its shortcomings, the glue that binds this rock n roll romp is both Schafers affinity for flawed yet roguishly loveable characters, pin-sharp dialogue, a sumptuously realised world of chrome V-8 engines, druidic temples and skull mountains, and its star, the belly-busting, Jack Black as Eddie Riggs, the greatest roadie on earth thrust into this weird and wonderful universe after a stage accident.
Slickly layered with a dusting of Norse mythology, and peppered with cameos from lords of rock, Ozzy, Lemmy and Judas Priests Rob Halford, Brutal Legend packs in a sizeable amount of tricks and treats as Eddie battles demonic nuns, colossal beasts and devilish armies on foot, in the air and behind the wheel of his hotrod, The Deuce, which can be retooled with everything from Gatling guns to homing rockets. A raucous rock n roll epic from the two very funny guys.